BIC residents prepare for "big one" in mock disaster drill

MONETTE, AR (KAIT) - If or when the "big one" hits, that massive earthquake could basically cut off relief for residents of Buffalo Island.

But now, thanks to a mock disaster drill held Wednesday, Craighead County officials are prepared for it.

Wednesday morning in Monette, an Army National Guard helicopter from Oklahoma flew in supplies of water and MRE meals.

The Chinook hauled in about 7,000 pounds to the community as it would do in a real disaster relief effort.

"What we're doing is saying Lake City bridge is down and Big Lake bridge is down," Craighead County Emergency Management Director, David Moore, told Region 8 News. "Buffalo Island is exactly that, an island, it's cut off from everywhere else. This place right here is what we're looking at hopefully as one of our resource areas to work the entire Buffalo Island area," Moore said.

Moore said they received about 108 cases of meals ready-to-eat and though it's not a lot, it is a starting point.

"We'll have that so we can initially start working because we're going to have a lot of shelters out there and there are going to be a lot of people we're going to have to take care of," Moore said.

The off-loaded supplies will be kept in Craighead County to be used in actual emergencies.

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